This is no normal quiche – the roasted nut aspect was inspired by a quiche I had many years ago whilst I was studying holistic medicine in college. The food served in-house was vegetarian – and delectable. This piece of work is a quiche filled with promising, extra delicious flavours for you to indulge in – they are all pretty healthy too, and of course they are vegan ! Ideal for picnics, but maybe not one for young children, because of the nuts. Serve it with a fresh red pepper, shredded carrot, cherry tomato and red onion salad, and I promise you a pretty memorable feast to relish !

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTRY

½ cup plain unbleached flour

½ cup wholemeal flour

¼ cup margarine (non-dairy)

a pinch of salt

cold water (around 2-3 tbsp)

METHOD

Place all the ingredients (except for the water) into a food processor, and mix until the consistency resembles that of bread crumbs. Then transfer into a large mixing bowl, and slowly add the water whilst kneading the mixture with your hands until a ball is formed. Dust the ball with flour, then place it in a plastic bag and refrigerate for an hour or so. Next, dust a clean surface, roll the pastry according to the size (8” quiche or baking tray), place into your greased tray, and cut any extra edging off.

1 cup coarsely cut vegan cheese of your choice (one that melts is a good idea, I used Redwoods vegan cheese)

1/2 cup soya milk

a few basil leaves, roughly cut

fine sea salt to taste

¾ cup raw whole cashew nuts

1 tsp nutmeg

METHOD

After you have made the pastry, place in an greased foil tray (or other baking tray of your choice) large enough to serve around 4 portions, then add the leeks.

Now, in a medium sized bowl, add the egg substitute, salt and cream to the soya milk, and whisk gently until blended, then pour onto the leeks.

Finally, add the chopped vegan cheese evenly over the mixture together with the fresh chopped basil, and top with the cashew nuts, a small amount of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. As a last touch, sprinkle on the nutmeg.

Place in the oven for around 40 minutes until golden. Make sure that it is set before removing – keep an eye open, just in case it needs a little longer. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving. Also tastes great when served cold. Bon Appètit !

64 Responses to “Cheezy Leek & Roasted Cashew Quiche”

How are you cooking the leeks. Are you sauteing them? In water? Oil? Does this get firm like real quiche or is it soft and runny. Can’t really tell from the pic. It looks DELICIOUS, though! I’m gonna make this tomorrow, so I’ll let you know how it turned out. Oh, yeah. . . do you think I could replace the egg substitute you are using with chia seed eggs. (1 tsp chia seeds to 1 cup water then let sit in refrigerator overnight – turns into a gel that binds) I don’t, and haven’t seen that particular brand in the state where I live in the US. Thanks for the great recipe.

Hi Carole and thanks for your comment, yes, it is certainly delicious !. Regarding the leeks, no I am not cooking them first, just cutting them into thin-ish slices – reason being that they cook in the steam of the filling – a little bit like just steaming them, but they cook through fine placing them raw as I have done in this dish, please see relevant pic with vegan cheese slices on top of the uncooked leeks. Now, in answer to your chia seed eggs, I have never used chia eggs before. The Orgran that I use IS sold in the States, UK. Italy and Australia (google it for more info) – (the ingredients are: potato strarch, tapioca flour, vegetable gum, methylcellulose, calcium carbonate, and citric acid) – this comes in a packet and here in Europe it is sold in Health Food Shops and Supermarkets alike – I don’t know exactly what to recommend unless it says Egg Replacer – furthermore, I cannot guarantee the same result, but if you ask for a powdered egg replacer you should find one, even if it is not the same make – you will need the equivalent of 3 eggs in this recipe – and what I like about the Orgran is that 1 teaspoon = 1 egg (just mix the powder with the same amount of water into a paste and you’re there) – do use a vegan cheese, I hear Daiya is excellent. Now this gel that binds through the chia egg, bear in mind you need to cook the quiche, so how would the chia egg would react in the oven I wouldn’t know and therefore couldn’t say. I wish you luck and hope that any substitutes you are going to try with this work. In terms of how much this binds as a conventional non-vegan quiche, that is to say comparing it to that, I would say that it binds about 70% as much as an non-vegan egg quiche – but it all but beats it in taste/flavour.

Between medium and high – our electric oven marks at 200C. Keep a check on it and don’t serve immediately after cooking, allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. It tastes and settles more and more as it cools down and the day after it is perfect. Enjoy !

Thanks Mirian. After reading your post, I went and looked for the Orgran and discovered it is sold here. There is another product I use that is called EnerG egg replacer. The chia eggs is supposed to be 1 Tbsp of chia seeds to a cup of water. I miss typed 1 tsp. I use it to replace eggs in cornbread and other baked goods with success. I was going to make this today, thinking I had leeks in the house, but I will get some at the store and I am definitely going to try this. Thanks for your wonderful recipes. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

This dish looks particularly interesting. Nice to know that quiche can still be on the menu for vegans! I love anything “cheezy”, but have yet to find a good cheese substitute. I have heard so many people raving about the pleasures of Daiya vegan cheese and am eagerly awaiting the company’s expansion into Australia.

What vegan cheeses do you have in Australia Veroni ? I do hope there is something you can use to enjoy some of the savoury dishes that I have. Do they have Redwoods Cheese there? We tend to use Redwoods, and the Daiya appears to be very good too ! This quiche is great and non-vegans say it’s as good in taste as the non-vegan and almost as great in texture too – it’s a favourite throughout the year – summer eaten cold on the beach or picnic etc, winter warmed and served as a side dish with some hearty soup !

Delicious Miriam!
1 thing that you forget to mention is where to put the Basil. I ended up putting it in with the leeks but I see from the pics you put it on top of the quiche.
My quiche was also not as solid as yours, a bit runny but you could still take out a slice without it crumbling. Should I use a bit more Egg replacer next time?

Anyway, it was absolutely delicious and the whole family enjoyed it.
Here are some pics. Can you allow picture posting on your facebook page..? hehe

Cynfelyn Hi, glad you enjoyed it. By all means increase your egg replacer by a teaspoon, and allow to cool before you cut it up. I don’t think there is any need to post them onto my facebook page, they are here this time instead (I have allowed them on my blog). Best, Miriam.

Hi there Ward, it does make a great smell in the kitchen doesn’t it. Whatever your thoughts on it after you taste it, it will taste even better tomorrow, and also chilled ! Enjoy & let me know how it all goes. Best to you !

The quiche sounds delicious, and I would really like to try it. I was wondering if you, Miriam, or anyone else has used a substitute such as rice milk, or any other nut ‘mylk'(cashew, macadamia, almond etc) to replace the soy (for health reasons I will not use soy).
Thanks heaps!

Hi there Vonney, thanks for that. I am pretty sure that any other non-dairy milk would be fine, so long as you can cook with it, the same applies to the vegan cream, again choose one that you can cook with, otherwise hope this works, no reason why it shouldn’t – hope you manage to get a good soya-free vegan cheese too. Let me know how it goes, and enjoy ! Best to you !

Made this for the first time for our meal tonight Miriam, oh my goodness, sooo delicious and so simple to make, it worked perfectly and was exceptionally tasty. All of us (including the dogs who begged a little corner each) absolutely loved it and we’ll definitely be having it again

hi Rolanda and thanks for your comment, so glad you enjoyed this quiche – I have to be honest and say that I don’t recall freezing this creation – it’s gonna have to be, try and see. You can always try and freeze just one portion and see what happens a few days later. Let me know if it works for you if so. Best & cheers !

Hi there Rolanda and thanks so much for your very useful comment – so ladies and gents we now have a delicious vegan quiche that indeed freezes well ! Thanks Rolanda and I look forward to your future comments here on my blog ! Cheers to you !.

Hi there Cherie and welcome here. Thank you so very much for dropping by with your comment – I am delighted that you have enjoyed this dish to the full ! Do drop by again when you have tried something else. Cheers to you !

I will attempt to make this as it looks wonderful, and thank you for sharing this with us. However, I have a real aversion to egg replacer. I wonder if a bit of cornflour would help with the binding whilst replacing half of the soya cream with soya cream cheese, such as tofutti would help with the firmness. The best cheese I have bought here in the UK is the Swiss No-moo brand – mildly aromatic is the one I get.

Julia Hi there and welcome to my site. The answer to both your questions is no.1 yes cornstarch will do. 2. Tofu instead of soya cream will help it all bind better too – it will definitely need the vegan cheese here, so go for it and let me know how it all goes – you should have a great flavour and texture. Enjoy and cheers to you – look forward to your future comments on my blog Julia.

Trevor Hi there and welcome to my site. So glad you dropped by with your comment, and also delighted that it turned out delicious for you – the ready made pastry would have sped the process up too, which makes life more convenient. Cheers to you and look forward to your future comments on my blog.

wow, I love the effort you put into this! not only are the steps easily to understand and the ingredients clearly listed, you also took the time to shoot pictures for each step!!! like, wow! (I simply love love love the photos!) ♥

Anna Hi there and welcome here. Thanks so much for dropping by with your wonderful comment. A labour of love indeed together with much passion and compassion compel me to create just about anything in my vegan kitchen. I do hope you enjoy my recipes and I very much look forward to your future comments here on my blog. Meantime best and cheers to you !

Annamaria Hi there and thanks so much for popping by here with your comment. I am delighted that you love my blog and that you enjoyed my quiche, it truly works without the eggs ! I very much look forward to your future comments on my blog and bon appetite in advance of the thai curry, let me know how it goes. Best wishes your way in the meantime !

I made this quiche for the second time to take to a family gathering. Some of my relatives were interested to know what a vegan quiche tastes like, they tried it and they enjoyed it. There was also the usual non-vegan quiche at the party, but it looks like your Cheezy Leek & Roasted Cashew Quiche was the winner, there was none leftover, whereas there was plenty of non-vegan quiche on the table at the end of the party.

Susie Hi there and thanks for dropping by here with your very kind words, thanks so much for putting a smile on my face ! I do hope you enjoy my recipes and come back and comment. Best wishes your way in the meantime !

Hi there Trevor ! Sounds like a competition between vegan and non-vegan quiche – sad when any food goes to waste really. That said, I am happy to hear that my quiche was a winner, and kudos to you for making and serving it, well done !!! I hope you enjoy my other recipes too, and come back with your feedback. Best wishes your way in the meantime Trevor !

I’m sorry to hear this Tasmanian, but many countries suffer from this, that is why I have created my own range of cheeses, some of which will be published in my upcoming book. I can add you to my upcoming newsletter for more on cheeses if you wish – let me know if so. Best wishes your way in the meantime !

Jo it depends what brands are available. Another option would be to use half a cup of pre-soaked cashew nuts, drain them and add 3/4 cup of water and process until smooth – use as you would cream for savoury dishes. For sweet dishes add some agave to taste (and you will have a pouring cream for fruit or other desserts).

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